Just few days back I came across this wonderful story from Mahabharata; this story was told by Bhishma to Yudhishtira. This story is an example of amazing loyalty and compassion which we find missing in today’s world. I was not able to find anything to write for blogging contest this time but when I read this story I thought of sharing this with everyone in Veda Family. Here the story goes….

Long time ago in a forest near Kasi (known as Varanasi now) lived a giant tree. Its branches were spread for miles around. This gaint tree gave shelter to many birds and animals like monkeys, squirrels etc. All types of birds had nests on this tree. Even snakes and lizards crawled beneath the tree seeking shade in hot days. All these living creatures were secure and happy under this tree. One day a hunter launched a poisoned arrow into trunk of tree while chasing its prey. Due to the harmful effects of the poison the leaves started falling from the tree and the branches started to tremor. All the inhabitants of the tree started running away from tree after they recognized the trouble. There was just one parrot who refused to leave the tree- its shelter in such condition. Everyone tried to persuade him to leave for his well being but he was just not ready to leave his home.

God was amazed by such conduct; he was surprised that how such a small creature can have such traits when humans don’t have it. He appeared in front of bird in guise of a priest and advised it to leave the tree. He asked the bird that there are many other trees in the forest that are laden with green leaves and fruits then why you don’t want to leave this tree and go to one of them. The bird replied: This is the place where I was born, here in this tree I gained all the good traits of my character and here I took shelter from all my enemies and natural hazards. Should I now abandon the one who has always been my support? The Vedas themselves teach –Matr Devo Bhav, Pitr Devo Bhav, guru devo bhav (means honor your mother, father and guru like God). This tree has been all to me. Should I abandon it now? Pleased by the bird’s conduct God revealed his identity and offered the parrot a wish. The parrot pleaded the God to save the tree; God saved the tree by showering nectar on it. The tree was saved just because of a small bird because that bird had sense of gratitude towards its benefactor.

This story teaches us to always be loyal to those who have offered shelter to us and who has been our support in bad times. We should never forget the people who have been compassionate towards us. If we are unable to see God in one who has been our help then we can-not see God anywhere. Whatever virtues, qualities we may have but without loyalty and compassion they are worthless. Being ungrateful is the worst thing that one can ever do.

The prime cause behind sharing this story with all of you is Veda. Through this story I wanted to give a message that I would have not been able to give otherwise. By the God’s grace Veda is in no such state, instead we have started our journey towards a bigger goal and we all know that the path to that goal is not going to be a piece of cake. There will be ups and downs for sure. What I expect from all of us to have loyalty and compassion that a little bird had shown towards the tree. Veda has always been shelter to fresh talent and welcomed it with open arms. Most of the people who are currently part of Veda family; had joined here as a fresher. When the world was not ready to accept us and give a chance to our talent, Veda did. We have gained all our knowledge and experience from this place and now is the time to hold our hands together and support our own nest. Whatever we are today worth of that’s all because of this wonderful company and now it’s our chance to give something back to it by supporting it up with our knowledge, experience and hard work. I believe that all of us feel the same but still I wanted to say this to everyone at Veda. I have full faith that we will fare through this very well and will become a much more successful company tomorrow. Today we are proud of this company which is an integral part of our lives and tomorrow also when we will look back I am sure we will be prouder.

“The greater the loyalty of a group towards the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.”

Wonderful thoughts and the line “If we are unable to see God in one who has been our help then we can-not see God anywhere ” is very true.
Veda (specially You & Piyush ) always support me in all my good and bad times.

6

Garima

well written…liked it 🙂

7

Ranjit

Loved the post Ritu ..the story is truely touching…I particularly liked the sentence “If we are unable to see God in one who has been our help then we can-not see God anywhere.” The story has a simple and straightforward message that really strikes a chord with the reader’s heart.

8

Parul

I must say tht the story & the blog itself is very motivational….I fully agree tht loyalty & compassion is the need of the hour & this blog made me remember & thank my mother for having me & tolerating all my tanturms!!

9

Chandradeep Singh Panwar

Lovely thoughts mam…

10

Anshuj

I like the thought …is it inspired from the Ranjit Painting in Holi competition ….just kidding….u know mahabharat has been my favourite topic and analogy is too good.

11

Vikram

Beautiful & touching thought Ritu.

12

Sharan

Its a very well written article indeed. Kudos to the author.

In this fast paced world, we have forgotten all about loyalty and compassion solely because we are concentrating on selfish aspects. I do want to take this opportunity and add one more thing to this article that loyalty and compassion always works two ways. If the tree has not provided its inmates with its shelter and fruit, then there was no reason for that parrot to stick out with the tree in its dying stages.

Another thing I want to add is “Parents and Guru have always been given more importance than God himself and they are the reason we come to know about the existence of God himself.”

A very well drafted article, hope to see more similar articles flowing. Cheers !

13

Sunny

Ritu you forgot smthin in the ‘Devo Bhav’ category…..its Atithi Devo Bhav too :)….well jokes apart, this blog is food for thoughts ! there are very few people left now a days who think this way. keep it up !! PEACE.

14

Ashish

Nice Post.

15

Ritu

@ Piyush, Vikram, Swapna: Thank you. I know you all very well understand the feelings behind this post. 🙂

16

Ritu

@Parul: I am glad that this blog made you think about you mother. At least you realized that how many tantrums you throw :). thanks for reading.

@Sharan: Thank you so much. But I liked your comment more than my blog.

@Garima, Sunny: thank you 🙂

17

@noop

One more wonderful blog written by u….ritu.Everytime you write something i just luv to read it..very nice & touching thought ……………

18

Harish

Good post Ritu. You should write more often on Veranda and LIG.

19

Rohit

Very well said and so true..It really touched my heart….keep up the good work Ritu!!!

20

Romila Sundaresan

That was such a wonderful story. You know, it really made me realise that the only people I can count on to stand by me when I am really down and out are my dogs. They do not love me because of any reasons. When we love people for a reason, we also stop loving them when the reason no longer exists. Animals and children are the only people who are able to love whole-heartedly, unconditionally and without expecting something in return.

I thought another very important thing the story said was that even a small bird can make a difference if it has the integrity to stand up for what it believes in. Power does not only lie in numbers, high positions or size. True power is the ability to bring change and touch people’s lives without people even realising what you are doing.

Truly inspiring – for me as a person, for me as a member of Veda and for me as a citizen of a great country.

21

Love Diwan

big things comes in small packages……!
that’s really a great thought…..

22

kavita

very nicely n well written… good work ritu..

23

Naveen

Madam!!! Great thoughts….I truely believe in to what you have tried to convey through this post…even i have felt the same with “veda” not as employer but as a family….few people understands that and i am glad that you took the ownership to spread this message out…

cheers
naveen

24

Sukhdeep

Loved the story and the way its presented. Great Job Ritu!!… Keep writing 🙂

hey, u have great clarity of thought…keep it up…give us some more to read…:)

27

chanakya

really nice story…………
n touching too………

28

vishal pathak

The English noun compassion, meaning to suffer together with, comes from the Latin. Its prefix “Com”- comes directly from com, an archaic version of the Latin preposition and affix cum (= with)
Passion segment is derived from passus, past participle of the deponent verb patior, patī, passus sum. Compassion is thus related in origin, form and meaning to the English noun patient (= one who suffers).

Together both suffer is regarded as compassion for each other. Nice write-up Ritu, apt and wise 🙂

29

vishal pathak

Compassion is a foundation for sharing our aliveness and building a humane world. I am believe that nobody has ever measured, not even people like poets, saints, philanthropists and …. engineers like us (lol) how much a heart can hold.

whoa……i didnt even know such a story existed !!!!!!!!! well nice article and so are the sentiments in concern. good one.

38

Gurshi

well….so may people have said so many things…and they havnt left anything for me to say. but still wanted to add that this feeling that you have put in words is jst smthin special. keep it up. I hope ur company knows what ‘asset’ they have !

39

Sonia

hi ritu….. lovely thoughts. not everyone can put it in words that precisely n to the point. wish i had words to do justice to the reply….lols…..good luck.